10,147 Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 413,306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,147 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 1.4% of Vest Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $137,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Avenir Tech Ltd acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Ironwood Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $376,168,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $350.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Phillip Securities downgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Maxim Group raised their price objective on Apple from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Apple from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Guggenheim set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 46,389 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $45,615,190.20. The trade was a 25.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.40, for a total transaction of $442,112.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,224,675.20. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 290,212 shares of company stock worth $96,639,685 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 2.4%

AAPL opened at $350.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $336.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $299.02. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.42 and a 1-year high of $355.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 125.35% and a net margin of 27.60%. The business had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 9.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio is 12.04%.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported quarterly revenue of $114.48 billion and EPS of $2.10, topping estimates, with double-digit growth in hardware and services. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Apple Intelligence cleared a Chinese regulatory step for use on tablets and laptops, potentially expanding the service’s reach in a major market. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Apple has begun offering $49.99 add-on packs for extra AI usage in Creator Studio, a potential new revenue stream from its AI features. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary points to resilient iPhone demand and Apple’s comparatively restrained AI spending as advantages amid investor concerns about heavy AI investment elsewhere. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple issued $7.5 billion in senior unsecured notes. The financing provides capital but also adds debt; the announcement does not specify a direct operating catalyst. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Reports warn that rising memory-chip costs could pressure margins, while some analysts question whether Apple’s valuation leaves limited room for further gains. Article

Apple Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS.

The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple’s devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world.

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.